MUSIC REVIEW: The Revivalists get Boston jumping

jaymiller

Monday

Jan 14, 2019 at 5:52 AM

New Orleans is known as the musical mecca where musicians and bands gleefully ignore stylistic boundaries and mix genres in unexpected ways. About the only thing you can be sure of is that with any Crescent City band, there will be plenty of rhythm.

The Revivalists come out of that grand tradition, almost in a direct line from the funky r&b of The Meters, or the soul-funk of the Neville Brothers. But the main element that the octet builds around is simply mainstream American rock and pop. Their music contains all those delectable polyrhythms, all that greasy r&b and buttery soul, with jazzy excursions and inventive jamming, and funk-drenched arrangements certain to get everyone with a pulse moving.

But the foundation for most of their music is inescapably melodic rock 'n' roll. A case can be made that rock is simply the amalgam of all those various other styles, those roots of rock like blues, folk, r&b, soul and funk. But with The Revivalists, the blending is done so well that the key element, the primary driving force of most of their songs, is an unerring sense of rock/pop melody. It's no surprise that several of their singles have already topped the Adult Alternative and Alternate Songs charts, or that their show Sunday night at the sold out House of Blues in Boston drew over 2000 fans of all ages and demographics.

The Revivalists played a 17-song, one hour-45-minute show that included ten of the fourteen songs from their brand-new album, “Take Good Care,” which was just released in November. Much like their records, the band in concert is a heady concoction of sounds, from saxophone to pedal steel, but the secret weapon is the way almost all the tunes are compact and immediately infectious pop songs. Several of the members write for the band, and most of the songs deal with romantic matters and finding one's way in a complex world, but as common as that may sound, the underlying subtext is of a joyous embrace of life and love and other people, and that broad bonhomie makes for an intoxicating added feature.

Heck, I was even getting along with the 300-pound guy in a Saints jersey who kept bumping into me every time he tried to dance in the jam-packed throng, and his buddy, who yelled out “Who Dat?” after seemingly every song. It was just a night of good times and good feelings.

The Revivalists include David Shaw on vocals, George Gekas on bass, Zack Feinberg on guitar, Rob Ingraham on saxes, Ed Williams on guitar and pedal steel, Andrew Campanelli on drums, Michael Giradot on sax and keyboards, and PJ Howard on percussion. They formed in 2007, and did much of their development in jam sessions at the vaunted Tipitina's club in New Orleans. The band had an EP out by the next year, and released their debut album “Vital Signs” in 2010. By 2015, and two more albums, The Revivalists were cited among Ten Bands You Need to Know in Rolling Stone magazine. That same year, their single “Wish I Knew You” topped both the Adult Alternative and Alternative charts, on its way to going platinum. That success has continued, as the new single “All My Friends” has already topped the Adult Alternative radio charts.

The Revivalists' set opened with the smooth soul/funk of “Oh No,” but it really ignited with the third song, the absurdly euphoric “You and I,” which deals with a musician's being on the road and the joy of reunion with the girl he left behind. With Shaw prowling the outer limits of the stage and shaking as many hands as he could, the infectious chorus “When I'm with you, All I want to do is dance..” turned the venue into a swirling, rolling kind of dance hall.

A slower tune, the country-style-lyrics ballad “You Said It All” came across as ambling soul, topped off by a remarkable pedal steel solo where Williams coaxed theremin-like sounds out of his instrument. 2010's “Catching Fireflies” began as a midtempo folk-rock outing, but soon amped up into a torrid funk jam. “Some People Say” was another heady concoction, essentially a power ballad, yet one with a polyrhythmic foundation, and a fiery guitar vs. pedal steel series of solos. The latest single, “All My Friends,” mixes still more things, as the verses are delivered in hip-hop rapid cadence, before resolving into the classic rock chorus–which is another indelible Revivalists hook.

The blazing funk workout “Got Love” went from midtempo to raucous, roaring choruses, where again mainstream rock seemed to be the home to which the tune kept returning. Another song emphasizing the optimism of being in love, “Future, ” was more of a rocking march, but with a funky underpinning. “Change” was a perfect blend of funk and rock, not so much a march as a strut you could imagine someone making down Bourbon Street. The joyous funk-rock of “Celebration,” which closed the regular set, included some hints of Memphis grit, almost a Rufus Thomas party-in-NOLA vibe.

The encore segment started with the ballad “On the Other Side of Paradise,” where the wonderfully textured arrangement, with backup vocals, horns, and more pedal steel fire, made for more sparks. A cover of the Rolling Stones' dirty disco hit “Miss You” seemed tailor-made for this band, and Shaw clearly reveled in delivering its sassy lyrics. It had been a fine concert by then, but the octet still hadn't done its biggest hit, and the big finale of “Wish I Knew You (When We Were Young)” became a massive singalong, underlining what a classic pop song it really is, even amid the lowdown tenor sax solo and all those steamy rhythms.

The Brooklyn-by-way of Boston quartet American Authors opened the night with about 45 minutes of their energetic pop. American Authors songs also seem to celebrate the joy of being alive, and sometimes in love, and they craft some decent rock hooks, just without all the added musical flavorings of The Revivalists. The American Authors' “Right Here Right Now” is a kinetic blast to be sure, and the new ballad “Leaving Here” has potential. Their mostly acoustic cover of The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” was a really neat surprise. And the singalong quotient was through the roof for their hit “I'm Born to Run,” which fans may recognize more from its chorus “I'm gonna live my life like I'm gonna die young..”

American Authors' set peaked with its hit “Best Day of My Life,” where the band encouraged the audience to join them in jumping in place to its pounding, exhilarating melody, and so the crowded House of Blues became a pogoing laboratory for 2000. There are worse ways to spend a Sunday night.